School Sucks and Life Bites!
by Wolf Paws
Summary: Shippo's a bad kid. He's always in trouble. But living on his own is hard and school just doesn't seem imporetant. Till a certail girl gives it a little meaning. (whoa, a non-depressing fic! i must be sick...)
1. Welcome to the life of a Punk!

        This is just a side story that I had courage enough to act on and post. I hope you enjoy it even for its little worth ^-^ (by the way...um…I don't know eyes colors of some characters so just bear with me…. ^-^')

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          He sat in the back alleys near Cherry Street and Nickson Boulevard. They were dim and cold as opposed to the bright bustling city streets. He leaned against the chilled stonewall and shoved a cigarette between his lips.

 His name was Shippo. He was a young boy, only fifteen, in his freshmen year at Disten High. His hair was a reddish brown, and it hung in messy bangs down to his eyes. It was longer then most guys but not past his neck. His eyes were a steely blue. They looked almost green at times giving them an overall look of turquoise. He wore baggy pants, never anything but jeans, and a navy shirt that portrayed his favorite rock group. Against the growing cold of fall he had tossed on a very weathered black jacket.

Now he brought a lighter to his face and held his hand to guard the small flame in the chilly wind that shot through the ally. He took a long drag and let the smoke float gracefully into the autumn air. Another school year had just begun. 'Oh yippee' he thought dryly. Two weeks in and already he fantasized over burning the damned place down. He took another puff and let the smoldering paper fall to the ground where he crushed it under his heel. He was trying to quit but he needed one every now and then, just to steady his nerves. He was by no means addicted…at least not in his own mind. His will was strong and he knew if he tried hard enough he could easily put them down for good.

He took a look up at the stormy skies but he knew it wouldn't rain. It had rained itself out in the last few days and by tomorrow it would be sunny and warm. Maybe even a high of sixty-five degrees, wonderful weather for September.  Now he took a look at the battered watch on his left arm and sighed. He was going to be late. Still, he took his time and walked out the ally and headed down Cherry Street towards Rochester Avenue. 

His new 1st period teacher had taken a certain hate to him. Of course, this only made it more fun to piss her off. Mean old bat…so what if he was late. Its not like he did anything anyway. New school, same story. All the teachers pouting over his 'wasted talent'. Telling him he could go far if he put his mind to it. Who really cared? Not him… he worked at the gas station down on 6th street and didn't have time for homework. Even if he did he doubted he'd do it. What did it matter? He would never in a million years have enough money for college so his grades didn't really matter. He'd just get a no-brain job for minimal pay and try his best to keep that old shack he called a home from falling down. Oh but that Kilala was pissed when he brought home those F's. She was one tough girl, but she was a good friend. She had been there when he was a kid. His dad was working three different part-time jobs and his mom shifted between taking care of him and writing her novel. It was really too bad she never finished it. That was one good book. He bet a thousand times that it would have been published in a second. But it was just like Kilala said…you can't live off 'if onlys'. 

He trotted down the street, hands in his pockets, watching the cars rush by. He was still working on his Dad's old car. His dad had built most of it himself, but he had started with the basic parts of an old mustang. He wasn't as good a mechanic as his old man and picking up where he left off was easier said then done. Still he worked hard on it; maybe someday he would drive that baby up to school. Then he wouldn't be late. But like he said…what did he care anyway? Oh, but Kilala had told him a thousand times, he could really go somewhere if he tried. She was a sophomore now. She went to the same school but he barely saw her. Maybe he'd catch her in the halls every now and then, but that was it. She was a nice girl, blonde hair down to her shoulders. It curved softly under her chin and she tucked it behind her ears. She wore long jeans and every now and then a knee length skirt. She was a big fan of sweaters but liked her concert tees. She had a nice smile, it showed she was strong and yet portrayed her kindness. Her eyes were a light and soft brown and she put very little make-up on. Just some classy earrings and a nice necklace. She was plainly pretty. His buddy Sota had told him a thousand times he should go with her, but he always socked the kid in the arm and said "no way shrimp." 

Sota was his good buddy, but he hadn't known him as long as he had known Kilala. Sota was younger, only in 7th grade. Yet he was extremely smart for his age and he knew when to shut his mouth. His hair was dark and cut shorter, but he was kindly charming in what girls would call a 'sweet' kind of way. He could get you to laugh without even trying. Shippo didn't know why the twerp thought he'd even consider Kilala. He'd always give him that look and told him, "I'll date Kilala when you date your sister". You had to love his reaction. Besides the fact that he would never date a girl he considered family he also knew that Ki had her eyes on some dude from her French class. What was his name? Oh yea, Rune. Not exactly what you'd call a friendly guy, but who was he to judge. Rune was a tough kid. Quiet, in a dangerous kind of way. He had blue eyes that were icy cold and almost platinum blonde hair that hung in short spiky strands on his forehead. He wore surfing shirts (which confused the hell outta Shippo cause there were no oceans round here) and blue jeans. He always had on a hemp necklace with a red bead in the middle. 

Shippo turned the corner and laid his eyes on school. "What a miserable place." he muttered to himself. He let himself in the front doors, which were probably swarming with teens just a few minutes earlier. He checked his watch. Only three minutes late. With a mischievous smile he strutted up the stairs and down the hall to his English class. Mrs. Withersen could only gave him dirty looks for being three minutes late because you could only get in trouble for being five minutes late. He had always loved that rule even though it made little sense. It was probably the only rule he liked at all. He strolled in casually and Mrs. Withersen let out a sigh. "Ah, Shippo…late as usual." He smiled that confident smile and nodded. "Sorry ma'am musta lost track of time." She gave him a stern glare and pointed him to his seat. Before he had reached it though, he stopped dead in his tracks to stare at the girl in front of the room. Mrs. Withersen looked up and caught his gaze. "Before Mr. Shippo _interrupted_," she gave him another dirty look, "I was introducing our new student. Class this is Rin Shelling." The girl was breathtaking. She had glossy black hair tied back in a simple but perfect ponytail. It fell to just past her shoulders so he guessed let down it was at mid-back length. Her eyes were a dazzling hazel and she had a face like an angel. She had this certain innocence about her that made her glow. She had on baby blue shirt with a nice magenta zip up sweatshirt. Then she had khaki's and a pair of silver earrings. Her books were held in front of her and she kept her eyes cast down with shyness. His teacher brought Shippo out of his thoughts. "Shippo would you kindly _take your seat_." She said with venom. He just smiled a Cheshire smile and saluted her. "YES MA'AM" he strutted to his seat with the class giggling in the background. She just gave him a dry look and pressed on. "I'll take attendance out loud so you can get acquainted with the class, Ms. Shelling." The girl nodded. 

She started off the list with her least favorite student. "Shippo Avery." He saluted once again "PRESENT!" the class giggled and Rin smiled in spite of herself. Mrs. Withersen looked grumpy but continued down the list. When all the students were introduced, she pointed Rin to a seat." Shippo never paid attention in the first place, but today he couldn't even if he tried. Instead he took out a bit of paper and sketched a picture of this new girl. That was one talent he was proud of. He was an amazing artist. Art was the only class he ever pulled a constant A in. His art teacher, Mr. Kalyo, was always ready to goof off but only to a point. He was the only teacher Shippo had ever held any respect for.

He put the finishing touches on his art and began to fold the paper with expert experience. His eyes flashed up to check on the old bat, but she was hard at work scribbling nonsense on the board. He sent the art airplane across the room and it landed gracefully on the new girl's desk. She looked up and he gave her a warm smile. She took the airplane uncertainly and unfolded it. There was a picture, sketched lightly in pencil, of her. She smiled to herself; it was surprisingly real looking. There at the bottom of the picture was "Welcome to Disten High, happiest Hell Hole on Earth." She gave him a smile that melted him. School had just got ten times more interesting.

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Well, I decided it was about time I wrote a present day story. Just a stray idea that found its way on paper. Please review if you'd like me to create a plot for this as well, and keep it going. ^-^Thx


	2. Swimming

Well…not to many reviews but that's ok, I guess. I like writing this fic so I'll go on anyway. Thx for spell checks (GAH MY FRIEND IS SO BUSTED SHE SAID THAT'S HOW YOU SPELLED SOFTMORE... sophomore… sophomore? … GAH I DUNNO!) grrrrr, well anyway. I don't know who asked for a Kagome/Sess thing (I'm not online-no access to reviews) but my other fic, Stormy Days, is like that…  ANYWAY, thx for reviewing…

Enjoy! ^-^

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          After English were Math (boring), gym (fun, but that teacher sucked…an F for not participating?!), and then history (nap time). Finally it was lunch, and he strolled through the park-like cafeteria in search of his buddies. This lunchroom was definitely not like any other room in the school. It reminded him of a mall, maybe a hotel lobby, but _not_ a cafeteria. It had big windows that let the sunlight stream in (if there had been any today) and there were many potted plants and trees.  Students walked freely everywhere and sat at the park-like tables eating and talking. The lunch line looked like the counter at a nice fast food restaurant. Everything was a classy white color. He sat down by the big central fountain (a little over the top for high school, don't ya think?) and waited for Sota. It hadn't been a minute when the Higurashi kid was making his way through the crowd towards him. 

"Hey!" Shippo shouted as he came near. "Don't squish the poor little seventh grader!" Sota's ears turned red and he hurried to get over to Shippo. When he reached him he punched his arm and gave him a dirty look but Shippo only laughed harder. Sota was at Disten for a special program. He was really good with numbers so he was participating in the annual math contest. Shippo called it the 'nerdy-smart-twerp contest'. Shippo was enjoying his laugh when he noticed another kid standing awkwardly behind him. Sota looked up and caught his gaze. He pulled the other kid closer. "Hey Shipp, I'd like you to meet Kohaku Kalasumi. He's in the math contest too." The kid smiled nervously. Shippo smiled in a friendly way and said, "So your in the geek contest too? HEY I'm just kidding, Sota, jeez…" Sota batted him again and Shippo broke into laughter. Kohaku smiled again and it seemed more relaxed. The freshmen boy then looked at him a bit closer in thought. Kohaku had brown hair that was longer then Sota's but shorter then Shippo's. It was kind of messy in a net sort of way. He had freckles on his face and his eyes were a dark and rich brown. 

"Wait…Kalasumi? Ain't that the name of your sister's friend, Sota? He nodded, "Yea, he's Sango's brother. Weird we never met before this…" Kagome Higurashi and Sango Kalasumi had been friends for the last two years. Both girls were now in college and had met as roommates. It was amazing how quickly they became inseparable.

They kept talking and didn't notice the girl sneaking up behind Shippo with cat-like stealth. She grinned with victory and pounced on Shippo, knocking him into the fountain. He sputtered and gasped in surprise. Kilala stood triumphantly in front of him grinning. "Hey Shippo! You look a little wet!" she giggled and the boys tried to hide their smiles behind their hands to no avail. Shippo got up out of the water. He was sopping and his clothes stuck to him showing his thin but built body. "Jeez Ki! How am I gonna explain this?" Sota grinned. "Say you went for a swim…" He tried to shake the water off, cursing to himself. Kilala couldn't stop giggling. "What the hell are you doing in this lunch period anyway?" he questioned her while dumping water out of his shoe. People were staring now. Kilala tried to stop her giggling. "Just thought I'd come say Hi to my favorite boys." She beamed innocently. Shippo looked up slowly with the look in his eyes that had meant certain destruction for many a kid before now. He smiled a slow evil smile and started staggering slowly and menacingly towards Kilala. "Shippo, what are you doing…No Shippo…No, Get away!!!" She was screaming and laughing as he grabbed her and took her down with him in the water. "AHHH SHIPPO!" They were sitting in the fountain laughing and now the whole lunchroom was watching. She hit him over the head. "I hate you!" she mocked. "I love you too!" he responded and she got out scowling at him with a smile. Many students were laughing and some of the more 'judging' ones were muttering to themselves. But the hall monitor had walked in just in time to see Shippo take Ki down. Now he was storming over. Sota saw him and grabbed Kohaku by the arm. "Uh oh, abort! Good Luck Shipp!" they disappeared into the crowd.

          "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" his neck bulged with anger and Shippo fought down the need to burst with laughter. "Oh...You know…just takin' a swim…" The monitor grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him out. "I can tell detention is not going to be an unfamiliar place to you so lets get you acquainted right now." He dragged Shippo off. Shippo just waved at everyone with his Cheshire smile. More laugher and more muttering from the snotty groups. 

          Kilala waved back with a sweet smile. Shippo shrugged and allowed himself to slide as he was pulled. It was a very humorous sight. Kilala started to walk away as the lunchroom got back to its normal chatter. She was dripping from head to toe, and on her way out the door, she slipped. Her arm was caught and she looked up into the brilliant blue eyes of her rescuer. It was Rune. He looked at her curiously. "What happened?" She blushed a little and got back up with his help. "Shippo threw me in the fountain after I pushed him in." Rune smiled, something that was very rare for him. "You pushed him in? Heh, so I shouldn't pity you after all." She smiled her glamorous smile. "Let's see," he thought out loud. "Shippo…Shippo Avery?" She sighed but her smile remained. "Yea, that's him…" Rune played with his hemp necklace. "You two…together?" She shook her head almost instantly. "Oh noooo. No no no no! More like brother and sister. I've known him forever." Rune nodded but did not give any hints to his thoughts. "Here let me help you to French…if you fall its going to hurt." She smiled and thought to herself. 'Shippo you just made my day!'

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Well, let me know what you think, Oh and yes Sesshomaru, Inu yasha, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku will all show up eventually! PLEASE REEEVEEEEIIIIIWW! .


	3. Shippo's shack

Yes! Reviews! Awesome… well here we go, another chap!

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          It was late afternoon and the sun was setting on a peaceful autumn day. Tomorrow would be brighter; he knew it. Shippo had always had a good eye for weather. His mother had teased him, telling him he should be a weatherman. But Shippo had been appalled with that idea. He would be horrified to picture himself in a suit and tie in some musty newsroom. Besides, he would be fired for goofing off in front of the camera. He let these thoughts flow loosely in his mind as he took a puff on his cigarette. He didn't know why he was smoking one. He only did it when something was bothering him.

          He looked down the road and saw a blonde head bobbing with her stride as she came towards him. Kilala lived right down the road on the other side of the line. There wasn't really a line there but you could tell which side was which. There were the nice, not real big, but nice houses on one side. On the other were the shacks and flats. It got worse as you moved further in. Thankfully Shippo lived in a fairly nice part for his side of the line. His house itself wasn't in the nicest of shapes though. It had needed a lot of fixing when his parents had bought it and his dad had only done minor repair work. He may have been following his father's footsteps when it came to mechanics but he was no good at home improvement.  He leaned against the rickety white fence and watched her come up the drive.

          She smiled and brought up her hand in a familiar wave. "Hey Shipp!" He brought two fingers to his forehead in a miniature salute. "Sup, Ki?" She looked at the cigarette between his lips and let her smile slide into an annoyed scowl. He smiled sheepishly and shrugged at her but she was not enthused. She snatched the smoke from his mouth and ground it under her heel. "Hey! I was using that!" She smiled at him with sarcasm. "Yea, that's the point. Shippo, if I've told you once, I've told you a billion times, that stuff is crap. Just a waste of money and I hate to remind you, you're low on the green." He smiled at her. She was always on him about something, but never in a way that bugged him. "Yea yea, I know. Ease off a little, you're starting to sound like my mom." He laughed a little and she smiled but in his eyes she could see memories that were enough to draw tears. He looked down and his smile faded a little, she knew what he was thinking about. It had been almost a year now but he had never gotten over it. Maybe he never would. His parent's death had smashed any hopes that Shippo ever had at being a "normal" kid. Its not like he had ever been an extremely good kid but now… smoking, F's, skipping school. And whenever he was there he was in trouble. She knew he was still good old Shipp at heart but he needed to clean up. And no matter how hard she tried she was not the one who could do it. She looked up at his house. Another shutter had fallen loose and hung lopsided like the haunted manors in horror movies. She sighed, "Shippo, you really need some help with this house…" He smirked; "Aww c'mon, the house is fine, it-" He was cut off when the fence post he was leaning on gave way and the whole fence toppled over. He stared dumbstruck from the ground. "OK, so it needs a little work…" Kilala giggled and extended a hand to help him up. "C'mon lets get inside before the ground caves in under our feet." She led him up the cracked path to the house and let herself inside. It had been like that even before Shippo was living on his own. She was just like one of the family. And now she was all he had left.

 They went into the messy living room and fell into the old armchairs. "So how was detention Shipp?" He growled at her. "Annoying. But I bet it was better then sitting in class soaking wet." He smirked at her and she smiled back. "Actually I want to thank you for that." "What??" he gaped. She giggled, "I slipped because of the water and RUNE helped me up!" Shippo put his head in his hand, "Oh not this again…" She beamed, "Aww Shipp, but he's too hot!" He just shook his head ad suddenly leapt to a regal pose on the armchair. "He ain't got nuthin on me!" he fell off the chair. She laughed out loud, "Nooo, no one can compare to your charm!" He sat up grinning. "Yea, I wish…specially with that new girl…" She was instantly in his face. "New girl? What new girl? So you like her? What's she look like? What's her name?" Shippo smiled mildly, Ki had always been trying to get him a girlfriend but he just never wanted one. News that he could even possibly like a girl was enough to make her go crazy. "Easy Ki! Her name is Rin Shelling and she just came to Disten High. She's got dark hair and she looks real shy." Kilala gasped and giggled in that way that girl's do when they're talking about boys at slumber parties or their favorite band is on TV. "Awww, she sounds sweet! I can't wait to meet her! Shippo's FINALLY got a girlfriend!!!" "Hey hey! She's not my girlfriend!" He waved his hands frantically but Kilala just started taunting him in a singsong voice and it ended in a wrestling match. Shippo came out the victor and Kilala decided it was time to head home. It was dark and Shippo had nothing to do so he walked with her. 

On the way there, Sota came up behind them on his bike. He was on his way home which was further down the road, where the neighborhoods were very nice. He rode beside them and listened to Ki go on about Shippo's "girlfriend" and then enjoyed watching Kilala being chased by Shippo with a stick. He laughed along with them. "Hey twerp, where are you coming from at a time like this, anyway?" Sota smiled happily. "I was over at Kohaku's house. We have lots in common." Kilala smiled sweetly, "Its good to see you make a new friend Sota, specially one that's actually your age. You were always so shy before." Sota blushed, "yea, I guess so." Shippo snatched him off his bike and caught him in a noogie. "Yea, you can't hang with the big kids forever, shrimp!" The bike went crashing to the ground and Sota was struggling in Shippo's arms. "Hey! Cut it out Shipp!" he laughed and let Sota drop to his feet. Kilala turned to her house and waved to them. 

Ki's mom was waiting in the window. She cared very much for her daughter, which was all she had. Kilala's dad had left the family when Ki was only six years old and they hadn't seen him since. That always made Shippo's blood boil. A girl like Kilala deserved nothing but the best. But he shoved these thoughts aside and waved to Ki's mom before turning to Sota. "So, you ok the rest the way to your place?" Sota got back on his bike, "yea, I'll be fine. See ya tomorrow!" "Later, twerp!" Shippo head back to his shack on the other side of the line. The night breeze ruffled his jacket and he shivered in the autumn wind. He'd have to double up on the blankets, tonight.

Sota watched Shippo leave before turning and heading towards his house. As e neared the two-story home he could just make out his sisters car over the hedge that surrounded the yard. He wondered if Sango was over for supper again. His thoughts were answered hen he turned up the drive and met his sister, Kagome, and her friends, Sango and Hojo, leaving the house. Sota waved, "Hey sis! Where ya headed?" "Hi Sota! We're going out to eat. Want me to pick you up anything?" "Nah that's ok…" He went past to put his bike in the garage and waved them good-bye before going inside. He was home; he said hi to hi mom and grandpa before making himself a sandwich and settling on the couch to watch TV. He had made a new friend and still had Shipp and Ki. Live was particularly good today.

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And next time we take you into Kagome's life, WOOO! OK later. I gotta go to school .


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